A 50th wedding anniversary is a milestone. Plan a gathering to celebrate your parents on their 50th wedding anniversary. Enlist the help of your siblings, other family members and close friends to make this event the most momentous occasion in your parent's history together. It's time to pull out all the stops.
Budget
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Pulling out all the stops certainly doesn't equal going broke. Rely on close friends and family members to help make the day a special one while helping to save money, too. If your cousin makes the very best lasagna in town, enlist her to bake up a few for the party. If your sister sings in a band, get a discounted rate for live performers. Use the resources that are afforded you through close ties to family and friends.
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Choose one or two family members who have exceptional people skills and provide them with a list of names of your parents older friends. Ask them to contact the people and interview them about your parents--as individuals and as a couple. Comprise a newspaper from these interviews and scan old photos to include in it as well. This will make for a fun way to reminisce and will allow those who may not be able to attend to play a role in the celebration.
Enlist the help of any artists in the group for decorating. Buy decorating supplies like crepe paper and balloons at your local dollar store.
Ask a friend who is techno-savvy to compile a stack of old photos into a slide show. Set the photos to music from the era when your parents were married for a touching and memorable means of entertainment.
Group Effort
Send a small square of material to all of the friends and family members you're inviting to the party. Ask them to stitch, embroider or write in permanent fabric marker a special message to the 50th anniversary couple, and to return the squares to you by a specified date.
If you sew, stitch the squares together and back them with quilt backing to make a memorable 50th anniversary quilt from the whole gang. If you're not a seamstress, put the word out early in your planning stages that you need someone to piece together a quilt, and you'll likely find some volunteers.
'50s for the 50th
Help your parents celebrate 50 years of marriage by taking a nostalgic look back at the 1950s. Ask guests to dress in '50s fashions and set up the food and drinks to resemble an old '50s diner. Call vending supply companies and ask about renting a vintage-look jukebox filled with '50s tunes. Check with local car dealers about vintage '50s autos that may be available for display at the event.
Find vintage signs on eBay for decorations, and hunt down some old newspapers from the era as well.
Top off the event with a recreation of your parent's original wedding cake. Find pictures of the original and take them to a professional baker several weeks ahead of time. They will likely be able to make a cake that closely resembles the one your mom and dad enjoyed at their wedding 50 years ago.